The Book
by badly-knitted
Summary: Dee goes to Ryo's apartment on his lover's day off despite Ryo telling him he wanted the day to himself.


**Title:** The Book

 **Author:** badly-knitted

 **Characters:** Dee, Ryo.

 **Rating:** PG-13

 **Setting:** After Vol. 7.

 **Summary:** Dee goes to Ryo's apartment on his lover's day off despite Ryo telling him he wanted the day to himself.

 **Written Using:** The tw100 prompt 'Book'

 **Word Count:** 981

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

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Dee let himself into Ryo's apartment as quietly as he could. He wasn't supposed to be there; it was his partner's day off and Ryo had specifically told him he wanted the day to himself to relax and rest. Dee didn't blame him; the day before had been rough and Ryo had narrowly avoided having his head split open when a murder suspect came at him wielding a tire iron. His fast reflexes had saved him from serious injury, but a close shave like that was enough to leave anyone feeling a bit shaken up, especially since the suspect had gotten away. Not that he'd evaded capture for long.

That was part of the reason Dee was here, to let Ryo know that the fugitive was now safely in custody. Dee could have called him with the news, probably should have rather than invade his partner's privacy, but… to be honest, he wanted to make sure Ryo was okay. While he claimed he'd only taken a glancing blow to the shoulder the previous afternoon, the sharp end of tire iron unable to penetrate the thick fabric of his winter coat, he'd gone down so hard that Dee wasn't convinced the metal bar hadn't clipped the side of his head before connecting with his shoulder.

So, here he was, sneaking in uninvited, and Ryo probably wouldn't be happy with him, but it wouldn't be the first time he'd landed himself in hot water with his lover. He wouldn't stay; he'd just tell Ryo the news, reassure himself, then leave him in peace. Probably.

There was no sign of Ryo in the living room or kitchen, but that wasn't unusual. Sometimes he liked to put his feet up in the peace and quiet of his own room, and sure enough, when Dee quietly eased the door open, there was Ryo, stretched out on his bed, fully dressed, propped against a pile of pillows, his nose buried in a book. Whatever it was, it had to be good judging by Ryo's rapt expression.

"Whatcha readin'?"

Okay, so he probably should've tapped on the door or something, drawn attention to himself before speaking, but even so, Ryo's reaction was a bit extreme.

"EEEEP!" He jolted upright with a startled squeak, his eyes going wide, the book flying out of his hand and across the room, skittering to a halt at Dee's feet. Ryo's face went from white to red faster than Dee would have believed possible. "Dee! What are you doing here?" Ryo scrambled off the bed to retrieve his book bfore Dee could pick it up, holding it down by his side where Dee couldn't see it.

"Yeah, sorry, I know you said you wanted to be alone today, and I honestly didn't mean to startle you like that, but I wanted to tell you we got Ricky Simms."

"You did? That's good news but couldn't you have just phoned to tell me?"

"I could have, thought about it and I was goin' to, but I wanted to check up on ya, make sure you were okay." Dee reached to lightly brush the hair back from Ryo's temple and his lover flinched. That confirmed what Dee had suspected. He gave Ryo a stern look. "Thought so. You said he missed."

"It's just a graze. Hardly even that."

"Still, you should'a said. You could've had a concussion."

"I got knocked down but not out. If I'd thought concussion was a possibility, I would have said something; I'm not an idiot."

"I never said you were. I just worry about you, and if you get hurt the only thing that sets my mind at rest is seein' for myself that you're alright."

"Well, you've seen, and I am, aside from you nearly giving me a heart attack sneaking in like that."

"I wasn't sneakin', you were just so engrossed in your book the St Patrick's Day Parade could have marched through here without you noticing. What's so fascinatin' anyway?" Dee had snatched the book out of his lover's hand before Ryo could move, turning it ove to see the front cover. "The Joy of Gay Sex? You bought yourself a copy?"

Ryo groaned, turning scarlet again and burying his face in his hands. "Diana got it for me. I was hoping you'd never find out."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to be better in bed so you wouldn't always have to take the lead. I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time, or whether I'm getting it right."

"No, that's not what I meant. But just so you know, you're definitely gettin' it right, I've got no complaints. Trust me, if I didn't like something I'd tell ya, and I hope you'd tell me if I did something you didn't like. What I meant was, why didn't you want me to find out about the book?"

"I thought you'd laugh. I mean, you know everything and…"

Dee silenced him with a kiss. When he finally pulled away, he looked deep into Ryo's eyes. "I know a lot, sure, but far from everything. Ryo, I love you, and for the record, I think gettin' the book was a great idea. I used to have a copy myself, learned a lot from it, until it fell apart. It was an older edition though, there's probably a lot of new stuff in this one." He handed the book back. "So, you want me to leave you alone with your book? Or, we could read it together and maybe try a few things, if you're not too sore from yesterday?"

Ryo looked down at the book in his hand, then at Dee. Reaching out, he took Dee by the hand and pulled him towards the bed. "I think maybe it's time I practiced some of what I've been reading about."

Dee grinned. "I was hopin' you'd say that."

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The End


End file.
